Method for nonwoven textiles with variable zonal properties

ABSTRACT

Methods and systems are provided for a process to generate a nonwoven textile. In one example, the nonwoven textile may have layered, zonal properties resulting from entangling of two or more types of staple fibers through a merging region between the layers of staple fibers while maintaining distinct zones, each zone comprising a type of staple fiber. Furthermore, the process may include embedding a filament layer into the nonwoven textile via a continuous assembly line.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 62/677,553, entitled “METHOD FOR NONWOVEN TEXTILES WITHVARIABLE ZONAL PROPERTIES”, filed on May 29, 2018. The entire contentsof the above-listed application are incorporated herein by reference forall purposes.

FIELD

The present description relates generally to methods and systems forgenerating a multi-zoned nonwoven textile.

BACKGROUND

Nonwoven textiles are engineered materials formed from webs of fiberswhere the fibers are interlocked by a mechanical, thermal, or chemicalmethod. The manufactured nonwoven fabrics may possess a wide range ofphysical properties including porosity, durability, stretch, strength,thermal insulation, etc.

SUMMARY

A combining of two or more properties into a single textile may bedesired but a continuous material with two distinct bonded layers, orzones, of fibers cannot be generated in-line by conventional fabricationmethods. Instead, the zones may be individually constructed and thencombined into a single sheet by an off-line process such as adhesiveattachment. As a result, throughput may be decreased while manufacturingcosts may be raised.

In one example, a textile with distinct zonal properties is generated byenmeshing and cross-lapping different fibers before they are feltedtogether. The resulting textile may have distinct properties on theupper surface, lower surface, and intermediate layer. The textile can begenerated via a single in-line production process.

It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introducein simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described inthe detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essentialfeatures of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defineduniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description.Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any partof this disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a process for forming a nonwoven textile with zonalproperties by incorporation of at least two types of staple fibers intothe textile.

FIG. 2 shows a process for forming a nonwoven textile from a staplefiber that is reinforced by a filament.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an orientation of a carded sheetof staple fiber(s) during cross-lapping, indicating a direction ofmovement and forces exerted on the carded sheet.

FIG. 4 is an example of a carding machine used in the process of forminga nonwoven textile.

FIG. 5 is an example of a cross-lapper used in the process of forming anonwoven textile.

FIG. 6 is an example of a needle felting machine used in the process offorming a nonwoven textile.

FIG. 7 is an example routine for forming a multi-layered nonwoventextile, each layer comprising a type of staple fiber with distinctproperties.

FIG. 8 is an example routine for forming a nonwoven textile from astaple fiber that is reinforced with a filament.

FIG. 9 shows a process for forming a nonwoven textile with zonalproperties by incorporation of at least two types of staple fibers intothe textile that are carded separately.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Nonwoven textiles, and methods for generating such textiles, aredescribed herein. An assembly line that includes elements and operationsincluded in the process for forming a nonwoven textile with layered,zonal properties is illustrated in FIG. 1. An alternate process forindividual carding of a first and a second staple fiber included into alayered nonwoven textile is shown in FIG. 9. A similar assembly line isshown in FIG. 2, depicting a process for generating a nonwoven textilewith an embedded layer of a continuous fiber, or filament. Changes in anorientation and dimensions of a staple fiber web during the processesshown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is elaborated in the schematic diagram of FIG. 3.FIGS. 4-6 show examples of a carding machine, a cross-lapper, and aneedle felting machine that may be used in the processes for fabricatingnonwoven textiles, such as the processes illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.Example routines for the processes of FIGS. 1, 2, and 9 are described inFIGS. 7 and 8 respectively, resulting in generation of a multi-layerednonwoven textile, each layer having distinct properties, and a nonwoventextile that is reinforced with a filament.

Nonwoven textiles are engineered materials formed from webs of fiberswhere the fibers are interlocked by a mechanical, thermal, or chemicalmethod. Manufacturing costs of nonwoven textiles are lower than those offabrics that are spun, woven, or knitted and sheets of nonwoven textilesmay be formed by processing staple fibers and/or filament fibers. Themanufactured nonwoven fabrics may possess a wide range of physicalproperties including variable porosity, durability, stretch, strength,thermal insulation, etc.

Nonwoven textiles include sheets, webs, or batts of natural or syntheticfibers that may be bonded together by different processes. Such textilesmay be used in a wide range of applications including linings forapparel, footwear, materials for filters and insulation, medicalsupplies such as bandages, and numerous other products. Furthermore, themanufacturing of nonwoven textiles provides alternatives to wovenfabrics.

At least a portion of a nonwoven textile may be composed of staplefibers, which may be fibers of discrete length that may be of a naturaltype, such as wool, or of a synthetic type, such as polyester. The typeof staple fiber used in the manufacture of a nonwoven textile may bechosen based on properties of the staple fiber such as absorbency, flameretardancy, softness, thermal insulation, stretch, use as a bacterialbarrier, etc., and further based on the desired properties of thetextile. While mixing of different types of staple fibers into a unitarynonwoven textile is achieved by conventional manufacturing processes,formation of a nonwoven textile with distinct zones, where the zones aredistributed along a thickness of the textile and each zone comprises atype of staple fiber, may impose additional operations to themanufacturing process and thus increase production costs whiledecreasing an efficiency of throughput.

In addition, in spite of the diversity of properties that may beimparted to nonwoven textiles based on the type of staple fiber used, infabrics formed from staple fibers alone, the strength of the nonwoventextile, e.g., resistance to rupture, may not match a strength possessedby woven fabrics. Reinforcement of the nonwoven textile by a filamentmay be desired. Conventional methods for incorporating the filament intothe structure of the nonwoven textile, however, may involve off-lineprocessing methods that increase costs and decrease productionthroughput.

In some examples, the nonwoven textile may be configured to have desiredzonal properties, arising from segregation of different staple fibertypes into each zone, yet remain a continuous fabric by coupling thezones through a merging zone disposed between the zones. For example, afirst zone forming an upper layer of the nonwoven textile may bethermally insulating while a second zone forming a bottom layer of thetextile may repel liquids. In another example, the first zone may have alower melting point, e.g., due to inclusion of a low melt polymer, thanthe second zone. The lower melting point of the first zone may allow thefirst zone to shrink at a faster rate, upon exposure to heat, than thesecond zone, biasing a bending of the textile and providing the textilewith a desired curvature. The merging zone between the first and secondzones may be a layer of adhesive when produced via conventionalprocesses. Adhering the first and second zones together may involve anadditional process that is not included in the on-line productionmethod, thus increasing a time for generation of the final nonwoventextile.

In another example, incorporation of a continuous filament into anonwoven textile formed from staple fibers may be desired. Thecontinuous filament may be a fiber of indiscrete or infinite length andmay be a natural or synthetic material. Incorporation of the filamentinto a structure of the nonwoven textile as a distinct layer may allowthe textile to have a desired visual pattern, coloring, or texture. Thepattern generated by the filament may impart a specific physicalproperty, e.g., rigidity or pliability, to the layer or zone where it isincorporated, as well as affecting an overall physical property of thetextile. Furthermore, the filament may be a low melt polymer thataffects a curling of the textile when heated. As well, the filament mayreinforce a property of the staple fiber, such as increasing a strengthor elasticity of the nonwoven textile. However, integration of thefilament into a web of staple fibers may not be achieved by a singlecontinuous process, according to conventional methods of manufacture,resulting in additional processing steps that may reduce a productionefficiency and incur additional costs.

The nonwoven textiles and methods for generation of the nonwoventextiles described herein overcome at least some of the aforementionedchallenges. The systems and methods described herein include aligningdifferent types of staple fibers in an orientation that maintainsdistinct zones of each type of staple fiber in the nonwoven textilesformed. The systems and methods also include positioning the continuousfilament relative to the staple fibers to form a layer of the filamentembedded within the staple fibers of the nonwoven textiles.

In one example, a method is provided that includes generating a web witha first and a second staple fiber, which in one example may be staplefibers of a first type and a second type, at least partially aligned toeach other and pleating the web along a first axis while moving thepleated web along a second axis, offset from the first axis. In such anexample, the staple fibers may be arranged in a common plane and cardedwhile travelling along a first axis into a first web and then pleated bycross-lapping along the first axis into a second web. During pleating,the first web may be moved along the second axis so that the pleatedsecond web is generated at an angle relative to the first axis. Thesecond web may be felted while moving along the second axis to form thenonwoven textile with the first type of staple fibers on a top surfaceand the second type of staple fibers on a bottom surface of the textile.

In another example, a method includes generating a web with a staplefiber and a continuous filament at least partially aligned to each otherand pleating the web along a first axis while moving the pleated webalong a second axis, offset from the first axis. The method may undergosimilar steps to the example described above and may further includeinitially threading the filament along the first axis to form a firstcarded web. The filament may be pleated along with the staple fiber toform an angled second web which may be felted to generate a textile withthe filament positioned in between a top surface and a bottom surface ofthe textile.

A process 100 for generating a nonwoven textile with layered zonalproperties is illustrated in FIG. 1. The process 100 includes a cardingstep, a cross-lapping step, and a felting step, and will be described inthe order that the steps occur to produce the nonwoven textile. A movingfirst conveyor belt 102 may be a transport mechanism for moving rawmaterials of the nonwoven textile between machine components of theprocess 100. A set of reference axes 101 are provided for comparison ofviews shown, indicating a y-direction, x-direction, and z-direction. Inone example, the y-direction may align with a lateral direction, the-xdirection with a horizontal direction, and the z-direction with avertical direction. However, other orientations have been contemplated.

Two different staple fibers, herein depicted as two types of staplefibers, a first staple fiber A and a second staple fiber B, may bestored in individual compartments within common staple fiber bin 104.Fiber A and fiber B may be staple fibers formed from materials withdifferent physical properties, such as from a natural or a syntheticfiber. Additionally or optionally, the first and second fiber may havedifferent lengths, textures, melting points, or colors. There may bestill other differences in physical properties between the first andsecond fibers.

Fiber A and fiber B may be transferred from the staple fiber bin 104 tothe first conveyor belt 102 and arranged on a surface of the firstconveyor belt 102 that is co-planar the x-y plane. The different typesof fibers may be positioned adjacent to one another along they-direction which is perpendicular to the direction of travel along thex-direction, as indicated by arrows 106. For example, when viewed alongthe x-direction towards a carding machine 108, along the direction oftravel, fiber A and fiber B may be arranged in a left-to-right alignmentin the x-y plane on the first conveyor belt 102, with a width D defininga distance between an outside edge (e.g., left-hand edge) of fiber A andan outside edge (e.g., right-hand edge) of fiber B.

The location of each type of staple fiber in the x-y plane may beselected based on a desired set of properties to be provided to thefinal nonwoven textile. For example, when fiber A is biased towards theleft side of the x-y plane (and of fiber B) on the first conveyor belt,when entering the carding machine, as shown in FIG. 1, the nonwoventextile may be generated with fiber A as a top layer, e.g., stackedabove fiber B, and fiber B as a bottom layer, e.g., stacked below fiberA. In one example, when the nonwoven textile is desired with waterproofproperties on the top surface and water wicking properties on the bottomsurface, the staple fibers may be inserted into the carding machine withthe staple fibers of the waterproofing material arranged on the leftside of the x-y plane, and the staple fibers of the water-wickingmaterial arranged on the right side of the x-y plane. In other words, asshown in FIG. 1, fiber A may be the waterproof material and fiber B maybe the water wicking material.

Furthermore, a ratio of the amount of a first fiber relative to theamount of a second fiber along the x-y carding plane may also affecttextile properties. For example, a thickness of the waterproof layerrelative to the water-wicking layer of the textile can be varied byadjusting portions of the width D attributed to each type of fiber. Asan example, in FIG. 1, 50% of the width D may comprise fiber A while theother 50% of the width D is formed from fiber B. To increase thethickness of the waterproof layer (fiber A), the proportioning of thewidth D may be adjusted to 70% fiber A and 30% fiber B.

In addition to enabling distinct zonal properties to be provided to thetop and bottom surface of the nonwoven textile as a single in-lineproduction approach, the left to right ordering of the staple fibers maybe particularly useful when more than two types of staple fibers areincorporated into the nonwoven textile. Therein, the arrangement enablesa specific property to be imparted to a central layer of the textileversus the outer layers of the textile. For example, a third staplefiber or filament may be arranged in the middle of the x-y plane,between fiber A and fiber B along the first conveyor belt 102, toincrease a tensile strength of the nonwoven textile.

A positioning of fiber A and fiber B on the first conveyor belt 102before the carding machine 108 may be referred to herein as a first,pre-carding, zone 110. In the first zone 110, the first conveyor belt102 moves along the direction indicated by arrows 106, thus conveyingfiber A and fiber B simultaneously along the same direction towards thecarding machine 108. The first conveyor belt 102 may be configured toextend continuously into, through, and out of the carding machine 108.The fibers may enter the carding machine 108 through an inlet opening ofthe carding machine 108 and travel continuously through the cardingmachine 108 while operations carried out by the carding machine 108 areperformed on the fibers. Carding machine operations are described atFIG. 3 and briefly include disentangling staple fiber masses so as topartially align individual fibers.

Fiber A and fiber B may be either raw fibers, if composed of a naturalmaterial such as wool or cotton, or fibers of a synthetic material, withdiscrete lengths. Fiber A and fiber B, while positioned adjacently onthe first conveyor belt 102, may be randomly aligned and unorganizedwithin their respective masses when entering the carding machine. Uponpassing through the carding machine 108, strands of fiber A and fiber Bmay become at least partially aligned in parallel with the direction ofconveyor belt movement. In addition, the strands of each fiber may be atleast partially aligned to one another

As fiber A and fiber B travel through the carding machine 108, thefibers may be freed from debris, detangled, and combed so that thestrands of the fibers are substantially parallel upon exiting thecarding machine 108 through an outlet opening. The carded staple fibersexit the carding machine as a first web 112 of staple fibers.

A schematic example of a carding machine 400, which may be the cardingmachine 108 of FIG. 1, is shown in FIG. 4 without an outer cover.Specifically, FIG. 4 depicts a side view of the carding machine 400.Staple fibers 402, which may be fiber A, fiber B, or both, may be fedinto an inlet 403 of the carding machine 400 along a first axis 404(herein the x-direction). The carding machine may include a first,upstream roller 406 and a second, downstream roller 408. The first andsecond rollers 406, 408 may be stationary and may rotate in respectivefixed positions, each driven by an electric motor. The first roller 406may be smaller than the second roller 408 and may rotate in acounter-clockwise direction 410. As a result of the static rotation ofthe first roller 406, staple fibers 402 are pulled into the cardingmachine along the x-direction. The fibers enter the carding machine at alocation under the first roller 406 and pass through a first set ofteeth 412 that clean, e.g., remove debris, and detangle the staplefibers 402. The first set of teeth 412 may be relatively large andspaced further apart relative to the teeth spacing of the second roller408. The size of the first set of teeth 412 may also be larger than adiameter and density of the staple fibers 402.

The detangled staple fibers 402 may be pulled through the second roller408, also rotating in place in the counter-clockwise direction 410, andadapted with a second set of teeth 414 to arrange the fiberssubstantially parallel to one another and with the x-direction. Thesecond set of teeth 414 may be smaller and more closely spaced apartthan the first set of teeth 412 to further align the strands of thestaple fibers 402 after the strands have been combed. A first web ofstaple fibers 402 may exit the carding machine 400 through an outletopening 405 of the carding machine 400, e.g., the first web 112 of FIG.1.

Furthermore, sizes of both the first set of teeth 412 and second set ofteeth 414 may be increased or decreased according to dimensions ormaterials of the staple fibers 402. For example, larger teeth may beused in the carding machine 400 if the staple fibers 402 are thick andcoarse. In contrast, smaller teeth may be used if the staple fibers 402are thin and dense. As a result it may be inefficient to use a singlecarding machine with specific sizes of the first and second sets ofteeth 412, 414 when more than one type of staple fibers, with differentthicknesses, are to be carded. As such, multiple carding machines may beemployed to increase efficiency, as discussed further below with respectto FIG. 9.

The carding machine 400 of FIG. 4 is shown with two rollers alignedlinearly along the direction of travel of the staple fibers. In otherexamples of the carding machine 400 however, the carding machine 400 mayinclude a different number of rollers with different orientations, e.g.,arranged vertically (along the z-direction) above one another or offsetfrom one another. As such, the carding machine 400 as shown in FIG. 4 isa non-limiting example of a carding machine that may be used in theprocess 100 of FIG. 1 and other examples of the carding machine havebeen contemplated.

Returning to FIG. 1, fiber A and fiber B may exit the carding machine108 as the first web 112, travelling in a same direction as in the firstzone 110 along the x-direction, with fiber A aligned on the left-handside and fiber B aligned on the right-hand side of the first web 112when viewed along the z-direction in the direction of travel, indicatedby arrows 106. The first web 112 may be a carded sheet of substantiallyparallel fibers with strands of fiber A at least partially aligned withstrands of fiber B. The first web 112 may pass through a second zone 114on the first conveyor belt 102 between the carding machine 108 and across-lapper 116, still travelling along the x-direction.

In another embodiment, depicted in FIG. 9 as process 900, fiber A may bedelivered to a first carding machine 902 by a conveyor belt 904 whilefiber B may be delivered to a second, different carding machine 906 by adifferent conveyor belt 908. The first carding machine 902 and thesecond carding machine 906 may have different sized teeth, such as thefirst and second sets of teeth 412, 414 of the carding machine 400 ofFIG. 4, adapted to comb and detangle staple fibers of differentthicknesses, coarseness, and/or tensile strength. Thus the first cardingmachine 902 may be configured specifically to card fiber A including afirst set of teeth selected based on the physical properties of fiber A,while the second carding machine 906 may be configured specifically tocard fiber B, including a second set of teeth selected based on thephysical properties of fiber B.

Fiber A and fiber B exit the first carding machine 902 and secondcarding machine 906 on conveyor belt 904 and conveyor belt 908,respectively, in the second zone 114 of the process 900. Fiber A mayform a first carded web 910 and fiber B may form a second carded web 912in the second zone 114, the first carded web 910 and second carded web912 converging at the cross-lapper 116. The first carded web 910 and thesecond carded web 912 may enter the cross-lapper 116 and retain theirpositions with respect to one another as the webs travel through thecross-lapper 116. During cross-lapping, fiber A and fiber B may bemerged into a single web, as detailed with reference to FIG. 1 below.

Returning to FIG. 1, the first web 112 may be cross-lapped andtransposed at the cross-lapping machine. Specifically, the first web isconcurrently pleated by the cross-lapper 116 and transposed as itemerges from the cross-lapper 116 in a different direction than thedirection of the first and second zones 110 and 114. The staple fibersdescend from the cross-lapper 116 as indicated by arrow 107 onto asecond, moving, conveyor belt 126 that is perpendicular to the firstconveyor belt 102 and aligned with the y-direction.

The cross-lapper 116 may be a machine comprising a pleating head 117adapted with a first roller 118 and a second roller 120, coupled via abelt 122. The first roller 118 may rotate in place but the second roller120 may rotate while simultaneously shifting translationally, e.g.,laterally, between a position distal to the first roller 118 and aposition proximate to the first roller 118 along the x-direction, asshown by dashed circle 120 a and double-ended arrow 124. The distalposition of the first roller 118 may be determined by a maximumextension of the belt 122. As the first web 112 is fed into thecross-lapper 116, the back-and-forth movement between the distal andproximal positions of the second roller 120 along the x-axis pleats thefirst web 112 onto the second conveyor belt 126. The second conveyorbelt 126 moves from the cross-lapper 116 towards a felting machine 130along the y-direction, offset from the direction of motion of the firstconveyor belt 102.

A second, pleated, web 128 is generated at the cross-lapper 116 withpleated folds that are offset from the surface of the second conveyorbelt 126 such that fiber B touches the surface of the second conveyorbelt 126 while fiber A is not in contact with the surface of the secondconveyor belt 126. A degree of pleating, e.g., the number of folds perunit length of the first web 112, may vary based on a frequency of thelateral movement of the second roller 120 between the positionsindicated by arrow 124. For example, faster movement of the secondroller 120 may result in more pleats per unit length of the first web112 and a narrower width E, defined along the x-axis, of the second web128. As another example, slower movement of the second roller 120 mayresult in fewer pleats per unit length of the first web 112 and abroader width E of the second web 128.

An example of a cross-lapper 500 is shown in FIG. 5. The cross-lapper500 may be the cross-lapper 116 of FIG. 1 and may include a firstconveyor belt 502 that feeds a first web 504 of staple fibers, which maythe first web 112 of FIG. 1, into the cross-lapper 500 along a directionindicated by arrow 506. The first web 504 may enter the cross-lapper 500via the first conveyor belt 502 and come into contact with rollers (notshown) of the cross-lapper 500. The rollers may be positioned below thex-y plane of a surface 503 of the first conveyor belt 502, with respectto the z-direction, in contact with the first conveyor belt 502, e.g.,with a bottom surface of the first conveyor belt 502. The rollers may bepositioned above a second conveyor belt 510 and spaced away from, e.g.,not in contact with, the second conveyor belt 510. The roller of thecross-lapper 500 may be configured similar to the first roller 118 andsecond roller 120 of FIG. 1, with at least one roller adapted to movetranslationally along the x-direction. Lateral movement of the rollerpleats the first web 504 onto the second conveyor belt 510 to form asecond web 508, which may be the second web 128 of FIG. 1. The secondweb 508 has a layered structure that is oriented differently from thefirst web 504 due to a perpendicular orientation of the second conveyorbelt 510, positioned under the cross-lapper 500 and moving away from thecross-lapper 500, so that when the first web 504 exits the cross-lapper500 to form the second web 508, the second web 508 travels from thecross-lapper 500 towards a felting machine, e.g., the felting machine130 of FIG. 1.

The second conveyor belt 510 may be coaxial with the y-direction and maybe moving away from the cross-lapper 500 as indicated by arrow 512. Thefirst web 504 emerges downwards, as indicated by arrow 514, from therollers of the cross-lapper 500 to land on the second conveyor belt 510as the first web 504 is pleated by the moving roller. Thus the secondweb 508 comprises a plurality of pleated layers with sides 516 formedfrom pleated edges of each layer of the plurality of pleated layers. Asthe plurality of pleated layers are formed and laid onto the secondconveyor belt 510, the second conveyor belt 50 is concurrently moving asindicated by arrow 109 so that the second web 508 is transported awayfrom the cross-lapper 500. The perpendicular motion of the second web508 with respect to the first web 504 results in an offset in theoverlapping, e.g. alignment, of each layer of the plurality of pleatedlayers with respect to adjacent layers, as elaborated further below.

The offset in the pleated layers is shown in FIG. 1 in the second web128 which is folded into pleated layers onto the second conveyor belt126 arranged below the cross-lapper 116. The second conveyor belt 126may move the second web 128 along the y-direction towards a feltingmachine 130, which is perpendicular to the direction of movement of thefirst conveyor belt 102. As the first web 112 is pleated to form thesecond web 128, the movement of the second conveyor belt 126 results ineach consecutive layer of the pleated layers of the second web 128 beingoffset from the previously disposed layer, e.g., not aligned. Forexample, a top edge of a first layer 132 may be staggered with respectto and closer to the felting machine than a top edge of a second layer134 that is layered on top of the first layer 132. The second layer 134is similarly staggered relative to a top edge of a third layer 136 ofthe pleated layers that is layered on top of the second layer 134. Thetop edges of the first, second, and third layers 132, 134, 136, may notbe parallel with respect to the plane of the second conveyor belt 126and are angled relative to one another. In some examples, the top edgesof the pleated layers may form a zig-zag pattern. Furthermore, as thepleated layers accrue in an offset manner as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, anangle of each additional pleated layer may decrease relative to thez-direction.

As an example, as viewed along the x direction from the cross-lapper 116towards the carding machine 108, the planar surface of the first layer132 of the second web 128 may be co-planar with the plane formed by thex- and z-directions and form a 90 degree angle with respect to thez-direction, as shown by angle a. At a mid-layer 140 that is formedseveral layers after the first layer 132, however, staggered overlappingof the pleated layers may result in a change in a tilt of a planarsurface of the mid-layer 140 relative to the z-direction, as shown byangle β. Angle β may be an angle that is less than 90 degrees, such asbetween 20 and 60 degrees. A terminal layer 144, which may be a finallayer of the pleated layers in the second web 128 and formed severallayers after the mid-layer 140 may form an angle Ω, with respect to thez-direction, that is smaller than the angle β of the mid-layer 140. Theangle Ω of a planar surface of the terminal layer 144 may be approaching0 degrees, such as between 0-10 degrees. Thus a plurality of pleatededges 147, e.g., side edges of the second web 128, may become morealigned with the z-direction as the pleated layers accumulate.

An amount by which each successive layer of the pleated layers is offsetfrom a previous layer and a rate of change in angles of the pleatedlayers relative to the y-direction (and z-direction) may depend on aspeed at which the second conveyor belt 126 is moving, as indicated byarrows 109. For example, faster speeds of the second conveyor belt 126may result in greater offsets between the pleated layers and a slowerrate of change in the angles of the pleated layers. The speed of thesecond conveyor belt 126 relative to a speed of the first conveyor belt102 may also have a similar effect on the offset of layers and change inangles of the pleated layers. For example, if the second conveyor belt126 is moving faster than the first conveyor belt 102, the offsetbetween each layer of the pleated layers may increase and the rate ofchange in angles of the pleated layers may decrease. Conversely, afaster speed along the first conveyor belt 102 relative to the secondconveyor belt 126 may result in smaller offsets between the pleatedlayers and more rapid changes in angles of the pleated layers withrespect to the y-direction, e.g., the pleated layers are more closelystacked along the z-direction.

The change in orientation and angling of the pleated layers of thesecond web 128 results in the width D of the first web 112 transposingto become a height D of the second web 128 at or approaching theterminal layer 144 of the pleated layers of the second web 128. Thetransposition does not result from direct rearrangement of the secondweb 128 but instead from a change in the direction of movement of thesecond web 128. In other words, the process 100 does not includerotating the first web 112 or second web 128 at any point. As such, thefibers of the webs remain aligned with the x-direction from the start tothe end of the process 100. However, alignment of the pleated layers ofthe second web 128 relative to the sheet of the first web 112 becomeincreasingly close to perpendicular to the y-direction as the pleatedlayers accumulate. The pleated layers of the second web 128 mayinitially be substantially stacked on top of each other but eventuallybecome aligned with the z-direction and arranged beside one another.

Furthermore, a width E of the second web 128 may be controlled by apitch of the cross-lapper, the pitch defined as a distance the secondroller 120 of the pleating head 117 of the cross-lapper 116 moves backand forth along the x-direction, according to the arrow 124. Forexample, the width E may be reduced by decreasing the pitch of thesecond roller 120, where the start and end position of the second roller120 are adjusted closer to one another. As the second web 128 is formedin a third zone 148 of the process 100, downstream of both the secondzone 114 and the first zone 112, the second web 128 may be continuouslyfed to the felting machine 130, arranged in-line along the y-directionof the second conveyor belt 126. An example of a felting machine 600 isdepicted in FIG. 6, which may be used similarly as the felting machine130 of FIG. 1.

Turning to FIG. 6, a second web 602, which may be the second web 128 ofFIG. 1, of staple fibers may enter the felting machine 600 along thedirection indicated by arrow 604 at an opening 606 of the feltingmachine 600 via a conveyor belt 608, which may be the second conveyorbelt 126 of FIG. 1. The felting machine 600 may include a block offelting needles 610 that move continuously up and down so that theneedles of the block of felting needles 610 may contact and exert adownwards force on the second web 602. The needles may be barbed needlesthat, when moving up and down through the second web 602, mesh thestaple fibers together resulting in an entangling of the fibers througha central region 603 of a height 601 of the second web 602. The centralregion 603 where the staple fibers may be enmeshed may be a middle zone603 that includes a portion of a thickness of an upper layer of staplefibers 614, such as fiber A of FIG. 1, and a portion of a thickness of abottom layer of staple fibers 616, such as fiber B of FIG. 1. The middlezone 603 may be a homogeneous mixture of the two types of staple fiberswith a distinct layer of one type of staple fiber above and a distinctlayer of another type of staple fiber below. A resulting flat sheet of anonwoven textile 612 may emerge from the felting machine 600 on theconveyor belt 608 along the y-direction, formed from the compressedupper player of staple fibers 614 over the bottom layer of staple fibers616, meshed together through the middle zone 603. A schematic diagram300 showing a change in dimensions of the second web 602 due to thefelting machine 600, or 130 of FIG. 1, is shown in FIG. 3 from aperspective view.

The schematic diagram 300 includes a first web 302 of carded staplefibers, which may be the first web 112 of FIG. 1, shown as a flat sheetsupported by a conveyor belt 301. Arrows 304 indicate how the first web302 is pleated by a cross-lapper, e.g., the cross-lapper 116 of FIGS. 1and 500 of FIG. 5, forming a pleated and layered second web 306, whichmay be the second web 128 of FIG. 1 or 602 of FIG. 6. A middle zonebetween two different types of staple fibers in the second web 306 isshown by dashed area 308. As the second web 306 passes through a feltingmachine, e.g., the felting machine 130 of FIGS. 1 and 600 of FIG. 2,felting needles press downwards, as indicated by arrows 310,intertwining the staple fibers of the second web 306. The second web 306is flattened into a nonwoven textile 312 with the different types ofstaple fibers stacked on top of one another along the z-direction.Although fibers from the two different types of staple fibers may beintermingled across the middle zone, e.g., dashed area 308, to bond thenonwoven textile 312 into a unitary fabric, the layers formed from thetwo different types of staple fibers may remain largely intact anddistinct, also shown by a nonwoven textile 150 of FIG. 1.

Returning to FIG. 1, a height H, or thickness H, of the nonwoven textile150 may be greatly reduced compared to the height D of the second web128 after passing through the felting machine 130 due to downward forcesexerted on the second web 128 by the felting needles, e.g., the block offelting needles 610 of FIG. 6. The nonwoven textile 150 may have anupper layer 152 formed from fiber A and a bottom layer 154 formed fromfiber B, similar to the vertical arrangement of fiber A and fiber B inthe second web 128. The upper layer 152 and bottom layer 154 may formdistinct, segregated zones of the nonwoven textile 150, with differentphysical properties above and below a middle zone 153, which may besimilar to the middle zone indicated by dashed area 308 of FIG. 3. Alongthe middle zone 153, strands from fiber A and fiber B may be mixed,forming a thin, relatively homogeneous layer. Thicknesses of the upperlayer 152 and bottom layer 154, defined along the z-direction andseparated by the middle zone 153, may be substantially equal due tosubstantially equal contributions to the width D from each of fiber Aand fiber B in the first zone 110 of the process 100. However, athickness of each zone (e.g., layer) of the nonwoven textile 150, may becontrolled by a division of the width D between fiber A and fiber B inthe first zone 110. For example, fiber A may comprise two-thirds of thewidth D in the first zone 110 on the first conveyor belt 102 and fiber Bmay comprise one-third of the width D. This may result in the upperlayer 152 of the nonwoven textile 150 having a thickness above themiddle zone 153 that is double the thickness of the bottom layer 154below the middle zone 153. Thus overall physical properties of thenonwoven textile 150 provided by individual characteristics of eachlayer, or zone, may be adjusted as desired by controlling thethicknesses of each zone.

In this way, nonwoven textiles with zonal properties, e.g. distinctlayers of staple fibers with different physical properties, may begenerated via the process 100 depicted in FIG. 1. The staple fiberlayers may be maintained distinct even though the zones are combinedinto a continuous sheet of fabric by changing the orientation of thesecond web relative to the first web and pleating the second web onto acontinuously moving conveyor belt. Further, the textile can be createdvia a single in-line production process, resulting in a reduceddependency for post processing steps which may augment time and costs.

Methods for generating a nonwoven textile may be further adapted toinclude a continuous filament. The filament may be a yarn, formed from anatural or synthetic fiber, of indeterminate length that may beincorporated into a structure of the nonwoven textile by processesdescribed below. By including the filament in the nonwoven textile, thetextile may be endowed with a desired color effect or pattern, e.g., thefilament may be a different color than the staple fiber(s) forming thetextile, the filament may provide a different physical property such asincreased tensile strength, or the filament may provide a differenttexture than the staple fiber(s).

As elaborated below, additional zonal properties may be created byworking with fibers and continuous filament of different melting pointsvia selective heat application. For example, the continuous filamentused may be a low melt polymer, incorporated into the middle zone of thetextile. By applying heat selectively to some regions of the textile,and not others, the positioning of the low melt polymer may be leveragedto generate textile zones that are stiffer than other zones. Inaddition, a curvature of the textile may be varied. In one example, thevariation in physical properties may be leveraged when using the textilein various manufacturing applications, such as during apparel orfootwear manufacture. This may reduce processing steps, improvingmanufacturing efficiency and throughput.

A process 200 for forming a nonwoven textile incorporating a filament isillustrated in FIG. 2. The process 200 may be substantially the same asthe process 100 of FIG. 1. Elements in common with process 100 of FIG. 1are similarly numbered and will not be re-introduced. The staple fiberbin 202 of the process 200 is shown with a single staple fiber, fiber B,for simplicity. In other examples, however, the staple fiber bin 202 maycomprise two types of staple fibers, such as staple fiber bin 104 ofFIG. 1 or more than two type of staple fibers. Furthermore, otherexamples may include different types of staple fibers carded throughdifferent carding machines, as shown in FIG. 9, more than one filamentand/or more than one type of filament incorporated into the nonwoventextile.

Fiber B may be transferred from the staple fiber bin 104 to the firstconveyor belt 102 and arranged on a surface of the first conveyor belt102 that is co-planar with a plane formed by the x- and y-directions. Amass of fiber B on the first conveyor belt 102, where the strands offiber B may be tangled and randomly oriented, may define the first zone110 of the process 200. The first conveyor belt 102, moving along thedirection indicated by arrows 106, transports fiber B to the inletopening of the carding machine 108 where fiber B is processed by thecarding machine (e.g., cleaned and detangled). Fiber B emerges throughthe outlet opening of the carding machine 108 with the strands of fiberB substantially aligned along the x-direction, forming a second web 214in the second zone 114 of process 200.

A filament 204, or yarn 204, may be wound around and stored on a bobbin206. The yarn 204 may be fed onto the first conveyor belt 102 in thesecond zone 114, as indicated by arrow 208, so that the yarn 204 isaligned with the x-direction on the first conveyor belt 102. Thecross-lapper 116 may have a threader 210 protruding from an inlet side,e.g., a side where fibers enter the carding machine 108, above the firstconveyor belt 102 through which the yarn 204 may be threaded. Thethreader 210 may have a structure similar to a comb, with a plurality ofteeth arranged side-by-side along the y-direction. The yarn 204 may bethreaded between a region of the plurality of teeth which guides aposition of the yarn 204 and maintains the alignment of the yarn 204along the moving first conveyor belt 102 amongst the strands of fiber Bas the yarn 204 is fed to the cross-lapper 116. For example, if the yarn204 is guided between two centrally positioned teeth of the plurality ofteeth of the threader 210, the yarn is maintained in a central positionof along a width F of the first web 212 in the first zone 110. In oneexample, a spacing of the teeth of the threader 210 may be selectedbased on a thickness, gauge, coarseness, or other physical properties ofthe continuous filament yarn 204 being threaded.

It will be appreciated that the process 200 of FIG. 2 is a non-limitingexample of how a filament may be incorporated into a nonwoven textile.Other examples may include adding more than one yarn and/or more thanone type of yarn, similarly fed through the threader 210, onto the firstweb 212, with the one or more yarns spaced apart along the y-direction,evenly spaced apart or biased towards one side. For example, a firstyarn may be arranged mid-way between along a width F of the first web212 while a second yarn may be added to the first web between the firstyarn and a left side of the first web 212, when viewing the first web212 along the x-direction from the carding machine 108 to thecross-lapper 116. In such an instance, a resulting nonwoven textile mayhave the second yarn incorporated into an upper layer of the textile.

The first web 212 entering the cross-lapper 116 on the first conveyorbelt 102 may comprise fiber B aligned along the x- direction with theyarn 204 running along a mid-point of the width F of the first web 212.In examples where two types of staple fibers are arranged equally on theconveyor belt 102, similar to process 100 of FIG. 1, each type of staplefiber may constitute equal portions of the width F, e.g., each staplefiber mass is as wide as half of the width F in the first zone 110.Alternatively, they may have unequal widths, based on the desiredproperties of the final textile. As such, the yarn 204 may be positionedin the middle of the two types of carded staple fibers in the first web212 and configured as a divider between the two types of staple fibers.

The first web 212 may pass through the cross-lapper 116 to be pleatedonto the moving second conveyor belt 126 in the third zone 148, alongdirections indicated by arrows 107 and 109, the second conveyor belt 126is perpendicular to the first conveyor belt 102, as described in theprocess 100 of FIG. 1. The second web 214 may be formed from thepleating of the first web 212. Pleated layers of the second web 214 aresimilarly angled as the pleated layers of the second web 128 of FIG. 1and the yarn 204 may be disposed across a width G of the second web 214,along the x-direction, at a mid-point of the height F (formerly thewidth F of the first web 212) of the second web 214.

The staple fibers above the yarn 204 may be intertwined and meshed withthe staple fibers below the yarn 204, which may be the same, as shown inFIG. 2, or different types of staple fibers, by the felting machine 130.The staple fibers above the yarn 204 may form an upper layer, or zone,216 of a nonwoven textile 218 generated by the felting machine 130 whilethe staple fibers below the yarn 204 may form a bottom layer, or zone,220 of the nonwoven textile 218. The staple fibers of the upper andbottom layers 216, 220 may be enmeshed within a merging region 219between the two zones, where the yarn 204 is arranged.

The yarn 204 may form a mid-layer 222 in the nonwoven textile 218 thatmay be co-planar with the x-y plane. The mid-layer 222 has a thickness,defined along the z-direction that is less than thicknesses of eitherthe upper layer 216 or the bottom layer 220 of the nonwoven textile 218.The yarn 204 may be disposed in a sinuous zig-zag pattern, when viewedfrom along the z-direction that intersects with sides 224 of thenonwoven textile 218. The pattern may traverse the width G of thenonwoven textile 218 as a result of the pleating of the first web 212 toform the second web 214. As such, at least some portions of the yarn 204in the mid-layer 222 may be aligned with the stable fibers of the upperand bottom layers 216, 220 along the width G of the nonwoven textile 218and other portions of the yarn 204 may be unaligned with the staplefibers.

In the process 200, the mid-layer 222, comprising the yarn 204, may beembedded halfway through a height, or thickness, J of the nonwoventextile 218, which is greatly reduced relative to the height F of thesecond web 214, the embedding due to the central arrangement of the yarn204 in the first zone 110 of the process 200. The relative positioningof the mid-layer 222 within the thickness J of the nonwoven textile 218may be adjusted to achieve a desired placement of the mid-layer 222 aswell as thicknesses of the upper and bottom layers 216 and 220. In oneexample, where the yarn 204 or continuous filament includes a low meltpolymer, a position of the middle layer may be adjusted to provide aspecific zonal property to the layer, such as a desired degree ofstiffness, pliability, rigidity, or curvature. For example, postprocessing heat treatment to selective locations of the nonwoven textile218 may enable the yarn 204 in the middle layer of the textile 218 to be“activated”, enabling the textile to be molded into a desired shape. Inaddition, the pattern generated by the yarn 204 in the mid-layer 222 mayaffect the properties of the mid-layer 222, and thereby the nonwoventextile 218.

For example, if the yarn 204 is arranged further to the left-hand sideon the first conveyor belt 102, when viewed along the x-direction fromthe carding machine 108 towards the cross-lapper 116, the mid-layer 222in the nonwoven textile 218 may be closer to a top surface 226 than abottom surface 228 of the nonwoven textile 218. In instances where anonwoven textile is formed from two different types of staple fibers, asin the process 100 of FIG. 1, each contributing to half of the width Dof the staple fibers across the conveyor belt 102 in the first zone 110of FIG. 1, the yarn 204 may be positioned between the masses of fiber Aand fiber B on the conveyor belt 102. In the resulting nonwoven textile150 the mid-layer 222 of FIG. 2, comprising the yarn 204, may divide theupper layer 152 of fiber A from the bottom layer 154 of fiber B, along amid-point of the thickness H of the nonwoven textile 150.

The embedding of the yarn 204 within the thickness H of the nonwoventextile 150 may lend the nonwoven textile 150 desired propertiesdepending on a material from which the yarn 204 is formed. As anexample, the yarn 204 may have a higher degree of elasticity than fiberB, thus forming a more elastic mid-layer 222 within a middle zone of thethickness H of the nonwoven textile 150. Increasing or decreasing adiameter or thickness of the yarn 204 may increase or decrease effectsof the yarn 204 on physical properties of the nonwoven textile 150. Asdescribed earlier, a thermal property of the yarn, such as when the yarnis made of a low melt polymer, may also affect the stiffness andcurvature of the textile. For example, selected heat application can beused with the low melt polymer to impart specific regions of the textilewith a desired degree of stiffness and/or a desired degree of curvature.Furthermore, if a more elastic upper or lower portion of the nonwoventextile 150 is demanded, the yarn 204 may be biased towards the left ortowards the right in the first zone 110 of the process 200 of FIG. 2along the width F of the mass of fiber B. For example, in the first zone110 of the process 100 of FIG. 1, the yarn 204 may be aligned within thewidth of the mass of fiber A so that a mid-layer of the yarn 204 isarranged within a thickness of the upper layer 152, formed of fiber A,and not in the merging region between the upper layer 152 and the bottomlayer 154 of the nonwoven textile 150. As a result, the yarn 204 of FIG.2 may form the mid-layer 222 embedded within the upper layer 152 or thebottom layer 154 of the nonwoven textile 150 of FIG. 1, instead of beingin-between the layers.

Other properties may be provided to the nonwoven textile 150 from theyarn 204 by selecting a type of yarn to form the mid-layer 222. The yarn204 may be of a material that reinforces a tensile strength of thenonwoven textile 150, or affords a higher rigidity. Alternatively oradditionally, the yarn 204 may create a desirable visual pattern withinthe nonwoven textile 150. The pattern may also affect the rigidity ofthe textile, such as by rendering the middle layer stiffer than theupper or lower layer.

By feeding a filament, such as the yarn 204, on to a conveyor belt, andadjusting an alignment of the filament with staple fibers, followed bycarding, pleating, and felting the fibers as shown in the process 200, anonwoven textile with an embedded layer of the filament may befabricated. The nonwoven textile may comprise one or more types ofstaple fibers and the filament layer may be arranged between the typesof staple fibers or inserted within a thickness of a layer formed by onetype of staple fiber. Incorporation of the filament may provide thenonwoven textile with a desired color or textile pattern, e.g. colorcontrast if the filament has a different color than the staple fiber(s).Alternatively, incorporation of the filament may provide a materialproperty, such as elasticity, strength, or texture.

FIGS. 1-6 show example configurations with relative positioning of thevarious components. If shown directly contacting each other, or directlycoupled, then such elements may be referred to as directly contacting ordirectly coupled, respectively, at least in one example. Similarly,elements shown contiguous or adjacent to one another may be contiguousor adjacent to each other, respectively, at least in one example. As anexample, components laying in face-sharing contact with each other maybe referred to as in face-sharing contact. As another example, elementspositioned apart from each other with only a space there-between and noother components may be referred to as such, in at least one example. Asyet another example, elements shown above/below one another, at oppositesides to one another, or to the left/right of one another may bereferred to as such, relative to one another. Further, as shown in thefigures, a topmost element or point of element may be referred to as a“top” of the component and a bottommost element or point of the elementmay be referred to as a “bottom” of the component, in at least oneexample. As used herein, top/bottom, upper/lower, above/below, may berelative to a vertical axis of the figures and used to describepositioning of elements of the figures relative to one another. As such,elements shown above other elements are positioned vertically above theother elements, in one example. As yet another example, shapes of theelements depicted within the figures may be referred to as having thoseshapes (e.g., such as being circular, straight, planar, curved, rounded,chamfered, angled, or the like). Further, elements shown intersectingone another may be referred to as intersecting elements or intersectingone another, in at least one example. Further still, an element shownwithin another element or shown outside of another element may bereferred as such, in one example.

Textiles are used in a variety of products for personal and industrialuse. For example, textiles may be used in articles of apparel, footwear,luggage, automotive applications, and medical applications. The productsmay include textile elements that are joined through stitching oradhesive bonding. Each textile may be manufactured from one or moredifferent types of fibers and filaments. One class of textiles are woventextiles that are generated via weaving or interlooping (e.g.,knitting). Another class of textiles are nonwoven textiles that aregenerated by joining different types of fibers and filaments, such asvia bonding.

Nonwoven textiles may be created with different zonal properties. Forexample, based on the nature and intended use of the product includingthe nonwoven textile, as well as the location of the textile in theproduct, a different property may be desired on a top surface of thetextile versus a back surface of the textile. As one example, it may bedesirable for a top surface of the textile to be water resistant and abottom surface of the textile to be able to rapidly wick water. Asanother example, it may be desirable for a top surface to be abrasionresistant and a bottom surface of the textile to be stretchable. Inorder to impart the different properties to the different zones of thetextile, webs of different types of fibers and filaments that correspondto the desired properties are joined via fusing, interlocking,thermocoupling, or adhesion. However, such steps add time and expense intextile manufacturing. In particular, separate webs for each type offiber may be generated first, followed by combination of the separatewebs in an off-line process. There may also be additional delays andcosts in transporting, stocking, cutting, and joining the differentfibers and filaments when creating the webs.

In one example, the above issues may be at least partly addressed by amethod of joining two or more different types of staple fibers such thata nonwoven textile with different zonal properties can be createdwithout the need for off-line bonding of the fibers. One example methodincludes generating a web including staple fibers of a first type and asecond type at least partially aligned to each other; and pleating theweb along a first axis while moving the pleated web along a second axis,offset from the first axis.

As an example, an assembly line for manufacturing a nonwoven textile mayinclude a carding machine, a cross-lapping machine, and a feltingmachine, each machine connected to the next via a conveyor belt. Staplefibers of two or more types (such as a first natural staple fiber and asecond synthetic staple fiber) may be fed into the carding machine alongthe conveyor belt. An arrangement, including a relative orientation ofthe fibers as they enter the carding machine, may be selected based onthe desired zonal properties of the final nonwoven textile. As anexample, the staple fibers may be inserted in a left-to-rightarrangement with a first type of fibers destined for the top surface ofthe textile biased towards the left side and a second type of fibersdestined for the bottom surface biased towards the right side. Thestaple fibers are then carded at the carding machine to generate a webof detangled and partially aligned staple fibers. The web is then fedinto a cross-lapping machine which pleats and transposes the web.Specifically, the web is pleated onto a conveyor belt which moves fromthe cross-lapping machine to the felting machine in a direction offsetfrom the direction in which the web was received at the cross-lappingmachine. As a result, a pleated web is generated where the pleat foldsare offset from the surface of the conveyor belt such that the region ofthe pleated web having the second type of staple fibers touch thesurface of the conveyor belt, and the region of the pleated web havingthe first type of staple fibers are in non-contact with the surface ofthe conveyor belt. The offset pleated web then enters a felting machinewhere the textile is felted via felting needles creating a nonwoventextile with a top surface of the first type of fibers, a bottom surfaceof the second type of fibers, and an intermediate zone wherein fibers ofthe first and second type are intertwined via the action of the feltingneedles.

In this way, a nonwoven textile with different zonal properties can becreated without the need for adhesives, bonding, or other chemicaljoining methods. By concurrently pleating and transposing a web ofcarded staple fibers of different types, staple fibers of a first typecan be felted to staple fibers of a second type to create a nonwoventextile with distinct properties in distinct zones. By varying thenature and density of the staple fibers in each of the zones, textileproperties such as tensile strength and elasticity can be varied. Byprocessing the fibers via carding, cross-lapping, and felting, thetextile can be created as part of an assembly line, reduce the cost andcomplexity of manufacturing the nonwoven textile. Example routines forgenerating the nonwoven textile are described below with respect toFIGS. 7 and 8.

Turning now to FIG. 7, a method 700 for generating a nonwoven textileincorporating a first staple fiber and a second staple fiber, the firstand second staple fibers having different physical properties, isillustrated. Method 700 may be used to manufacture a nonwoven textilehaving two distinct zones with distinct zonal properties, such as thenonwoven textile 150 of FIG. 1. However, in other examples, the method700 may be used to construct other nonwoven textiles with a single typeof staple fiber or more than two different types of staple fibers. Aspreviously discussed, the nonwoven textile may be included in apparel,footwear, in medical supplies, and various types of products.

At 702, the method includes arranging staple fibers on a first conveyorbelt, such as the first conveyor belt 102 of FIG. 1 that is moving alonga first axis. Arranging the staple fibers may comprise positioning afirst staple fiber, which may be a first type of staple fiber, on thefirst conveyor belt at 704 and additionally positioning a second staplefiber, which may be a second type of staple fiber, on the conveyor beltat 706. The first and second types of staple fibers may be placed on topof the first conveyor belt so that the masses of both types of staplefibers are co-planar and adjacent to one another along a directionperpendicular to the first axis. The fibers may be added to the firstconveyor belt manually or by an automated sorting device.

The first and second types of staple fibers are received and processedat a carding machine at 708, such as the carding machine 108 of FIG. 1.Processing the staple fibers at the carding machine may includedetangling the first and second types of staple fibers, cleaning thefibers, and aligning the fibers with the first axis at 710. Processingthe staple fibers at the carding machine may also include forming afirst web, e.g., the first web 112 of FIG. 1, at 712 that incorporatesboth the carded first and second types of staple fibers with the twotypes of staple fibers at least partially aligned to each other.

At 714, the method includes receiving and processing the first web at across-lapper, such as the cross-lapper 116 of FIG. 1. Processing thefirst web may comprise pleating the first web into overlapping layers at716. The cross-lapper has a first roller that rotates in place and asecond roller that rotates while moving translationally back and forth.The movement of the second roller festoons the first web into pleated,overlapping layers that are simultaneously fed onto a second conveyorbelt that is moving along a second axis perpendicular to the first axisat 718. The movement of the second conveyor belt as the first web ispleated onto the second conveyor belt results in each newly pleatedlayer being offset from the previous pleated layer.

At least a portion of bottom faces of a first few of the pleated layersis in contact with the second conveyor belt. As the pleated layersaccumulate, the layers become increasingly closer to perpendicular tothe x-y plane of the second conveyor belt and lesser portions of thebottom faces of the pleated layers contact the second conveyor belt,gradually decreasing a surface area of contact to bottom edges of thepleated layers with the second conveyor belt. The bottom edges of thepleated layers comprise staple fibers aligned on the right-hand side ofthe first conveyor belt. Upper portions and upper edges of the pleatedlayers comprise staple fibers aligned on the left-hand side of the firstconveyor belt that do not contact the second conveyor belt.

Processing the first web at the cross-lapper also includes forming asecond web, such as the second web 128 of FIG. 1, at 720 that isgenerated at an angle offset from the first direction of feeding thefirst web. The angle may be a right angle or an acute angle. As thepleated layers of the second web become more vertical, the stratifyingof the second web changes an orientation of the staple fibers from aleft-to-right orientation to a top-to-bottom orientation. The second webcomprises the pleated layers of the staple fibers with the first type ofstaple fibers aligned with the second type of staple fibers across awidth of the second web, with the first type of staple fibers stackedabove the second type of staple fibers.

At 722, a felting machine, such as the felting machine 130 of FIG. 1,processes the second web in-line with the second axis of the secondconveyor belt. The method, at 724, includes entangling and interlockingthe first type of staple fibers with the second type of staple fibers ina merging zone between the two types of staple fibers using needles,such as the block of felting needles 610 of FIG. 6. At 726, the heightof the second web is reduced due to a downward force exerted on thesecond web by the needles of the felting machine. The second web isfelted into a nonwoven textile at 728 that includes two distinct layers,or zones, that are bonded via meshing of the first and second types ofstaple fibers.

A similar process is shown in FIG. 8 by a method 800 for generating anonwoven textile with a layer formed from a filament, such as the yarn204 of FIG. 2. The filament layer may be embedded within a layer formedfrom a staple fiber or between layers of one or more types of staplefibers. While method 800 describes a routine for producing the nonwoventextile with one filament layer inserted between two layers of a singletype of staple fiber, method 800 may be applied to forming a nonwoventextile with one or more layers of filament embedded within one staplefiber layer or between layers of two or more different types of staplefibers. Numerous combinations of filament layers and staple fiber layerswithin the nonwoven textile may be envisioned.

At 802, the method includes arranging a staple fiber on a conveyor belt,such as the conveyor belt 102 of FIG. 2 that is moving along a firstaxis. Arranging the staple fiber may comprise positioning the staplefiber on the first conveyor belt at 804. The fibers may be added to thefirst conveyor belt manually or by an automated sorting device.

The staple fiber and filament are received and processed at a cardingmachine at 806, such as the carding machine 108 of FIG. 2. Processingthe staple fiber and filament may include detangling the staple fiber,cleaning the fiber, and aligning the staple fiber with the first axis at808. Receiving the staple fibers may also include forming a first web,e.g., the first web 212 of FIG. 2, at 810 that at least partially alignsthe strands of the carded staple fiber.

At 812, the method includes receiving and processing the first web at across-lapper, such as the cross-lapper 116 of FIG. 2. Receiving thefirst web may include feeding a filament from a bobbin, such as thebobbin 206 of FIG. 2, onto the conveyor belt and on top of the staplefiber at 814. The filament may be guided onto the conveyor belt by athreader, such as threader 210 of FIG. 2, so that the filament isaligned with the first axis. Processing the first web may comprisepleating the first web into overlapping layers at 816. The cross-lapperhas a first roller that rotates in place and a second roller thatrotates while moving translationally back and forth. The movement of thesecond roller festoons the first web into pleated, overlapping layersthat are simultaneously fed onto a second conveyor belt that is movingalong a second axis perpendicular to the first axis at 818. The movementof the second conveyor belt as the first web is pleated onto the secondconveyor belt results in each newly pleated layer being offset from theprevious pleated layer.

At least a portion of bottom faces of a first few of the pleated layersis in contact with the second conveyor belt. As the pleated layersaccumulate, the layers become increasingly closer to perpendicular tothe x-y plane of the second conveyor belt and lesser portions of thebottom faces of the pleated layers contact the second conveyor belt,gradually decreasing the surface area of contact to bottom edges of thepleated layers with the second conveyor belt. The bottom edges of thepleated layers comprise staple fibers aligned on the right-hand side ofthe first conveyor belt. Upper portions and upper edges of the pleatedlayers comprise staple fibers aligned on the left-hand side of the firstconveyor belt that do not contact the second conveyor belt.

Processing the first web at the cross-lapper also includes forming asecond web, such as the second web 214 of FIG. 2, at 820, that isgenerated at an angle offset from the first direction of feeding thefirst web. The angle may be a right angle or an acute angle. As thepleated layers of the second web become more vertical, the stratifyingof the second web changes an orientation of the staple fibers from aleft-to-right orientation to a top-to-bottom orientation. The filamentis also aligned with the staple fiber across the width of the second weband positioned at a mid-point along the height of the second web. Forexample, the mid-point may be half of the of the height, two-thirds ofthe height, a quarter of the height, etc., depending on where along awidth of the conveyor belt and staple fiber the filament was initiallyfed (e.g., at 802).

At 822, a felting machine, such as the felting machine 130 of FIG. 2,receives the second web in-line with the second axis of the secondconveyor belt. The method, at 824, includes entangling and interlockinga layer of staple fiber above the filament with a layer of staple fiberbelow the filament, in a merging zone between the two layers. Theintertwining of the staple fiber of the layers may be performed byneedles, such as the block of felting needles 610 of FIG. 6. At 826, theheight of the second web is reduced due to a downward force exerted onthe second web by the needles of the felting machine. The second web isfelted into a nonwoven textile at 828 that includes an upper layer ofstaple fiber and a bottom layer of staple fiber that merge in a regionbetween the upper and bottom layers where a filament layer is disposed.The filament layer may be thinner than both of the upper and bottomlayers and may form a sinuous pattern, back and forth across a width ofthe nonwoven textile. The upper and bottom layers may be equal ordifferent in thickness, depending on the positioning of the filamentlayer.

In this way a nonwoven textile with layered zonal properties may begenerated via a single continuous process. The nonwoven textile may beformed from two or more types of staple fibers, each type of staplefiber having a different physical property. The nonwoven textile may becreated by feeding staple fibers, of different types, as well as one ormore continuous filaments concurrently into a line production,simplifying textile manufacture. The processing described herein allowsthe different types of fibers to remain as distinct, yet attached,zones, each with distinct zonal properties. By simultaneouslyintegrating different types of staple fibers into discrete zones, thenonwoven textile may be formed without additional steps beyond thein-line operations shown. A manufacturing throughput may be increasedwhile reducing production costs, and with fewer off-line steps, thusproviding an improved method for endowing a nonwoven textile with zonalproperties.

As one embodiment, a nonwoven textile includes a first fiber zone and asecond fiber zone, the first fiber zone including a first staple fiberand the second fiber zone including a second staple fiber, wherein thefirst staple fiber of the first fiber zone is at least partially alignedwith the second staple fiber of the second fiber zone along a length orwidth of the textile, the first fiber zone positioned above the secondfiber zone. In a first example of the textile, the first fiber zonedefines a first surface of the textile and the second fiber zone definesa second, opposite surface of the textile and wherein the first staplefiber of the first fiber zone is a different type of staple fiber thanthe second staple fiber of the second fiber zone. A second example ofthe textile optionally includes the first example, and further includes,wherein the first fiber zone and the second fiber zone are adjacent toone another, the textile further comprising a merging zone intermediateto the first and second fiber zones, the merging zone including staplefibers of the first and second fiber zones. A third example of thetextile optionally includes one or more of the first and secondexamples, and further includes, wherein in the merging zone, the firststaple fiber of the first fiber zone is entangled with the second staplefiber of the second fiber zone along a depth-wise direction, thedepth-wise direction perpendicular to a lengthwise direction of thetextile. A fourth example of the textile optionally includes one or moreof the first through third examples, and further includes, wherein thefirst fiber zone is adhered to the second fiber zone via mechanicalentanglement of the different types of staple fibers at the mergingzone. A fifth example of the textile optionally includes one or more ofthe first through fourth examples, and further includes, wherein thedifferent types of staple fibers include one or more of staple fibers ofdifferent color, different material, and different melting points. Asixth example of the textile optionally includes one or more of thefirst through fifth examples, and further includes, wherein the firstfiber zone includes carded first staple fibers oriented in a lengthwisedirection of the textile, and wherein the second fiber zone includescarded second staple fibers, of a different type from the first staplefibers, oriented in the lengthwise direction of the textile. A seventhexample of the textile optionally includes one or more of the firstthrough sixth examples, and further includes, wherein a thickness of thefirst fiber zone is different from a thickness of the second fiber zone.An eighth example of the textile optionally includes one or more of thefirst through seventh examples, and further includes, wherein the firstfiber zone is felted to the second fiber zone along a depth of thetextile. A ninth example of the textile optionally includes one or moreof the first through eighth examples, and further includes, wherein thetextile is used in one or more of an article of apparel and an articleof footwear.

In another embodiment, a nonwoven textile includes a first zone ofcarded, horizontally aligned first staple fibers, a second zone ofcarded, horizontally aligned second staple fibers, and a third zoneintermediate the first and second zone, wherein the first, second, andthird zone are vertically aligned relative to one another. In a firstexample of the textile, the first staple fibers of the first zone are ofa first type and the second staple fibers of the second zone are of asecond type, the second type differing from the first type in at leastone physical property and wherein the staple fibers of the first typeare enmeshed with the staple fibers of the second type in the third zoneand the first, second, and third zones are vertically felted to oneanother. A second example of the textile optionally includes the firstexample, and further includes, wherein the first zone is positioned ontop of the second zone along a vertical axis perpendicular tohorizontally aligned first and second staple fibers and the first zonedefines a top surface of the textile and the second zone defines abottom surface of the textile and wherein the first staple fibers arevertically pleated in the first zone and the second staple fibers arevertically pleated in the second zone. A third example of the textileoptionally includes one or more of the first and second examples, andfurther includes, a continuous filament substantially aligned to thefirst staple fibers and the second staple fibers and wherein thecontinuous filament is vertically pleated in the third zone. A fourthexample of the textile optionally includes one or more of the firstthrough third examples, and further includes, wherein the first staplefibers, the second staple fibers, and the continuous filament are ofdiffering physical properties including one or more of differing color,differing material, differing melting temperature, and differingrigidity. In another embodiment, a method includes generating a webincluding a first staple fiber and second staple fiber at leastpartially aligned to each other, and pleating the web along a first axiswhile moving the pleated web along a second axis, offset from the firstaxis and substantially perpendicular to the first axis. In a firstexample of the method, generating the web includes carding the first andsecond staple fibers, along the first axis via a carding machine andwherein pleating the web includes repeatedly pleating via across-lapping machine. A second example of the method optionallyincludes the first example, and further includes, felting the pleatedweb along the second axis via a felting machine, and continuouslyfeeding the pleated web to the felting machine. A third example of themethod optionally includes one or more of the first and second examples,and further includes, wherein the moving includes continuously movingthe pleated web from the cross-lapping machine, away from the cardingmachine, and towards the felting machine, the cross-lapping machineincluding a pleating head having a first static roller and a secondmobile roller, the second mobile roller continuously moving towards andaway from the first roller with a frequency, wherein a degree ofpleating of the pleated web is based on the frequency. A fourth exampleof the method optionally includes one or more of the first through thirdexamples, and further includes, inserting a continuous filament into theweb via a threading machine, wherein the continuous filament is at leastpartially aligned with the first and second staple fibers.

The following claims particularly point out certain combinations andsub-combinations regarded as novel and non-obvious. These claims mayrefer to “an” element or “a first” element or the equivalent thereof.Such claims should be understood to include incorporation of one or moresuch elements, neither requiring nor excluding two or more suchelements. Other combinations and sub-combinations of the disclosedfeatures, functions, elements, and/or properties may be claimed throughamendment of the present claims or through presentation of new claims inthis or a related application. Such claims, whether broader, narrower,equal, or different in scope to the original claims, also are regardedas included within the subject matter of the present disclosure.

1. A nonwoven textile, comprising: a first fiber zone and a second fiberzone, the first fiber zone including a first staple fiber and the secondfiber zone including a second staple fiber, wherein the first staplefiber of the first fiber zone is at least partially aligned with thesecond staple fiber of the second fiber zone along a length or width ofthe textile, the first fiber zone positioned above the second fiberzone.
 2. The textile of any of claim 1, wherein the first fiber zonedefines a first surface of the textile and the second fiber zone definesa second, opposite surface of the textile and wherein the first staplefiber of the first fiber zone is a different type of staple fiber thanthe second staple fiber of the second fiber zone.
 3. The textile ofclaim 2, wherein the first fiber zone and the second fiber zone areadjacent to one another, the textile further comprising a merging zoneintermediate to the first and second fiber zones, the merging zoneincluding staple fibers of the first and second fiber zones.
 4. Thetextile of claim 3, wherein in the merging zone, the first staple fiberof the first fiber zone is entangled with the second staple fiber of thesecond fiber zone along a depth-wise direction, the depth-wise directionperpendicular to a lengthwise direction of the textile.
 5. The textileof claim 4, wherein the first fiber zone is adhered to the second fiberzone via mechanical entanglement of the different types of staple fibersat the merging zone.
 6. The textile of claim 5, wherein the differenttypes of staple fibers include one or more of staple fibers of differentcolor, different material, and different melting points.
 7. The textileof claim 6, wherein the first fiber zone includes carded first staplefibers oriented in a lengthwise direction of the textile, and whereinthe second fiber zone includes carded second staple fibers, of adifferent type from the first staple fibers, oriented in the lengthwisedirection of the textile.
 8. The textile of claim 1, wherein a thicknessof the first fiber zone is different from a thickness of the secondfiber zone.
 9. The textile of claim 1, wherein the first fiber zone isfelted to the second fiber zone along a depth of the textile.
 10. Thetextile of claim 1, wherein the textile is used in one or more of anarticle of apparel and an article of footwear.
 11. A nonwoven textile,comprising: a first zone of carded, horizontally aligned first staplefibers; a second zone of carded, horizontally aligned second staplefibers; and a third zone intermediate the first and second zone, whereinthe first, second, and third zone are vertically aligned relative to oneanother.
 12. The textile of claim 11, wherein the first staple fibers ofthe first zone are of a first type and the second staple fibers of thesecond zone are of a second type, the second type differing from thefirst type in at least one physical property and wherein the staplefibers of the first type are enmeshed with the staple fibers of thesecond type in the third zone and the first, second, and third zones arevertically felted to one another.
 13. The textile of claim 12, whereinthe first zone is positioned on top of the second zone along a verticalaxis perpendicular to the horizontally aligned first and second staplefibers and the first zone defines a top surface of the textile and thesecond zone defines a bottom surface of the textile and wherein thefirst staple fibers are vertically pleated in the first zone and thesecond staple fibers are vertically pleated in the second zone.
 14. Thetextile of claim 12, further comprising a continuous filamentsubstantially aligned to the first staple fibers and the second staplefibers and wherein the continuous filament is vertically pleated in thethird zone.
 15. The textile of claim 14, wherein the first staplefibers, the second staple fibers, and the continuous filament are ofdiffering physical properties including one or more of differing color,differing material, differing melting temperature, and differingrigidity.
 16. A method of generating a nonwoven textile, comprising:generating a web including a first staple fiber and second staple fiberat least partially aligned to each other; and pleating the web along afirst axis while moving the pleated web along a second axis, offset fromthe first axis and substantially perpendicular to the first axis. 17.The method of claim 16, wherein generating the web includes carding thefirst and second staple fibers, along the first axis via a cardingmachine and wherein pleating the web includes repeatedly pleating via across-lapping machine.
 18. The method of claim 17, further comprisingfelting the pleated web along the second axis via a felting machine, andcontinuously feeding the pleated web to the felting machine.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the moving includes continuously moving thepleated web from the cross-lapping machine, away from the cardingmachine, and towards the felting machine, the cross-lapping machineincluding a pleating head having a first static roller and a secondmobile roller, the second mobile roller continuously moving towards andaway from the first roller with a frequency, wherein a degree ofpleating of the pleated web is based on the frequency.
 20. The method ofclaim 16, further comprising inserting a continuous filament into theweb via a threading machine, wherein the continuous filament is at leastpartially aligned with the first and second staple fibers.